If you happen to live in Western Australia, you get to experience more sunshine hours than almost anywhere in the world,
With the outdoor lifestyle firmly embedded into the culture, you really should spend some time thinking about your outside area.
With a little creativity and a suitable budget, you could transform the most important area of the home, and make it a special area for you, your family, and your friends to enjoy.
A Comprehensive Solution
There are online companies that are dedicated to transforming outdoor areas, and for those who live in Western Australia, Perth Better Homes provide patios in Perth, and their in-house design team will help you to explore the possibilities, and whatever the outcome, they have the resources and the know how to make it happen.
They are experts at designing and creating unique outdoor areas that blend in perfectly with the home, and they can work to the client’s budget, which is ideal.
This type of company would be able to arrange landscaping, awnings, lighting and garden furniture, and if you wanted to start from scratch, they would have the resources to complete the project.
Maximise your Summer Enjoyment
Having a nice terraced area with adequate shading and nice furniture is by far the best way to experience the long summer days and evenings, and with an outdoor kitchen, the patio is complete.
Entertaining will take on a whole new dimension, and your party dates will soon be etched on everyone’s calendar, and with some professional help at the design stage, you really can’t go wrong.
Add Living Space
If you have a very comfortable terraced area, you have effectively increased your living space, and with the right screening, the area can be turned into a room and can be used all year round.
If the patio is adjoined to the rear or the side of the property, you can install some sliding or bi-folding aluminium doors, which gives you easy access to the outdoor area.
Al Fresco Dining
There is definitely something special about enjoying a nice meal in a quiet, shaded area of the garden, and if al fresco is up your street, the perfect ambience can be achieved with the right awning and some suitable garden furniture.
This Mediterranean style is very popular in Australia, as the climate is ideal, and with the right lighting, the evenings will give you and your family a warm, inviting glow.
Complement the Property
You probably have your home just as you want it, but imagine what you could do if you added a stylish patio?
It would certainly add value to the property and with the right design,and would complement the residence, and you and your family will always have a special reason for looking forward to the arrival of summer.
With the right help, there is no limit to what you can achieve in the garden, and the unlimited design options means your garden will have a truly unique look that will be the envy of all.
Planning a Kitchen?. . . . See below for some considerations for when you’re redesigning this essential space.
Storage
Regardless of your requirements, almost everyone will benefit from increasing the storage capacity of their existing or new kitchen.
To do so, there are number of great options to choose from which should form a part of your kitchen design from the beginning, rather than an afterthought when you’re close to finishing the plans.
Appliance cupboards, drawers with specific dividers for anything from utensils to pet food, sliding pantries and hollow island benches will provide more space to house your kitchen items.
This leads to a tidier space and enhances the functionality of your kitchen and less clutter will improve the appearance of the room overall.
Butlers Pantry?
Another functional addition to any kitchen, space permitting, is the butler’s pantry.
Not only does this additional space provide more storage for items such as extra crockery, glasses and special occasion cutlery, but they may also include additional power points, dishwashers and sinks.
With the added bonus of a door to hide any accumulated mess whilst entertaining, for example, the butler’s pantry is highly customisable, so you can tailor it to your needs.
Floorplan
With regard to your floorplan, don’t forget the famous triangle configuration for your sink, cooktop and fridge.
This arrangement will mean you can work with ease and not have to walk back and forth too much, or be too cramped.
If you are, however, using your kitchen for a number of non-cooking uses, ensure that through traffic has adequate room.
Do not placing seating not too close to hot cooking areas and consider whether there is enough work space if cooking and entertaining or other activities are occurring simultaneously.
In smaller kitchens, this is sometimes why the triangle is abandoned in favour of a kitchen that basically operates in a straight line, in order to maximise space and allow other people to be able to move around when it’s being used.
If you are considering an open design kitchen, planning is essential in order for it to look its best and function as intended. (For example, you may choose to select movable kitchen furniture that serves dual purposes such as meal prep space and a dining area)
Overall
The kitchen island is an example of a multifunctional fixture which you can maximise use of if you predetermine what else you’ll use it for.
You may opt for built in storage and seating on its opposite side so it can function as an informal dining area or homework station in addition to being a food preparation area.
The good news is that you can do a vast amount of research online when you’re beginning to planning this space.
Pinterest, design and building blogs as well as architecture sites will all offer copious amounts of kitchen configurations from the budget DIY to the extravagant.
Well I only found out about them a couple of weeks ago.
Basically they are a nationwide group of people that support a more sustainable future.
Amongst other things they are campaigning for are ‘Better Feed In’ rates for people with Soalr PV panels on their roof . . . . they believe a fair rate for Feed In Tariffs is between $0.10 and $0.18 rather than the $0.05 to $0.08 you might be currently getting!
With all the publicity about rising gas prices the gas networks must be feeling the heat. (AAAARGH what a shocking ‘Dad’ Joke)
Why else would I find an article on my Facebook feed entitled ‘Three Reasons Why Natural Gas Is Better Than Electricity’
Like a lot of advertising there is a fair bit of Bull Dust around so lets look at what they say, (with my comments in Italics afterwards)
1. It’s always there when you need it
Natural gas infrastructure allows distributors to deliver gas to customers on demand, without the supply and reliability issues associated with electricity. In fact, when it comes to reliability, Australia’s natural gas network experiences only one unplanned outage, on average every 40 years.
But when it happens it can be a big one! After the Longford Gas Disaster in 1998 the Whole of Victoria had no gas for more than 2 weeks. Daily cold showers over that one period was worse than the total of around 50 hours (say 2 hours a year) of power cuts over the last 25 years! We were just happy that we didn’t have gas cooking.
Also what about these articles on the upcoming Gas Shortage that forced Malcolm Turnbull to step in
2. It’s up to 40% cheaper than electricity to use
Natural gas has always been consistently affordable and is likely to continue to be so well into the future. Unlike electricity, where increased consumption drives your tariffs higher, generally the more gas appliances you install the more you can save. This is because in most cases, the cost per unit of gas decreases as consumption increases.
While gas appliances may cost a little more to install initially, running costs are generally lower. This means that using natural gas almost always works out cheaper in the long run.
For example, take one cook top and hot water system running in an average Australian household for one year:
Running on electricity, the cost would be $1,156 p.a. in South Australia and $1,235 p.a. in Victoria.
Running on natural gas, the cost would be $782 p.a. in South Australia and $725 p.a. in Victoria.
Installing a heat pump would save 50 – 60% of the electricity costs. That would bring electricity costs down to below gas. A solar hot water system with electric boosting could save more . . . . and think of the savings if you could get rid of the gas standing charge!
3. It produces significantly less greenhouse gas emissions than electricity
Yes, natural gas is a fossil fuel, but it is also far more environmentally friendly than electricity. Its chemical structure is quite different to coal, meaning its emissions are much lower.
Here are some quantifiable examples of why natural gas is a better environmental choice:
In South Australia, a gas powered hot water system emits 67% less CO2 than an electric equivalent
In Victoria, a gas powered hot water system emits 83% less CO2 than an electric equivalent
The emissions from a natural gas powered hot water system is on par with those produced by a system using 50% renewable energy and 50% coal electricity mix.
Gas currently delivers 44% of Australia’s household energy, but only produces 13% of household greenhouse gas emissions
Gas has a higher yield rate* from extraction to delivery (90%) compared to electricity, making it far more efficient.
With either of the alternatives mentioned in my response to Point 2 above the CO2 for electricity drops dramatically. I also have 3kw of solar panels on the roof of my 2 bedroom unit, on current performance it looks like I will be generating more power than I consume* . . . . Net effect no CO2 generated.
Although gas does have a higher yield rate what they don’t say is gas appliances have a lower efficiency typically 70 – 90% compared to electricity. Even the most basic electricity heater is 100% efficient. Some heat pumps are better than 300% efficient (for every kw going into the unit it delivers 3kw of heat)
Conclusion
If you want good advice on hot water, cooking, and heating your property don’t rely on the gas networks (or the electricity networks) . . . . find some independent advice, like this blog.
*Between when my solar system was switched at the end of January 2017, and 15th May 2015, I have generated 510kwhrs more power than we have used. I know I won’t be generating as much for the next few colder months, but I did miss out on a peak generating month of January.
